Basmati Story: From farm to fork to forex (E)
Basmati rice also called the scented aromatic pearl is very unique to the region are a big money spinner for India. Today the country is the largest exporter of Basmati Rice. On an average the country exports Rs 35,000 crores worth of Basmati every year. A look at the farm to fork to foreign exchange, revolution ushered in by the uniquely Indian paddy variety mastered by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. India’s ace Basmati breeder Dr A K Singh, director of IARI guides us through paddy harvesting. Also a look at how crop waste burning is being tackled using the Pusa Decomposer technology using a cocktail of fungi. The harvested paddy is then processed in mega rice milling plants and Mr Ashish Mittal, part of the legendary Basmati exporting industry KRBL Limited the world’s largest Basmati miller and exporter gives an inside look at the ultra-modern rice milling units that can process 1.2 million tonnes of Basmati every year. Undoubtedly India is the Basmati king of the world.
